NEW YORK-Media Village's Standard Media Index took an in-depth look at the impact COVID-19 had on the national TV advertising market in March and April of this year, which found that across all national TV the market was down $1.6 billion from the same period in 2019 and down $1.5 billion from SMI's initial March/April 2020 forecast.
Nationally, the rate of decline for upfront spending picked up in April compared to March-25% in April, 13% in March. For scatter spending, the decline is 36% for April and 17% in March.
A lack of sports broadcasting caused broadcast to see greater declines from initial projections for both upfront and scatter spending than cable. Broadcast is down $700 million from 2019 and $800 million from 2020 initial projections, while cable is down $900 million from 2019, but $700 million from projections. SMI says syndication is actually outperforming both March/April 2019 and initial forecasts.
PLUS: BIA Lowers Local TV Ad Revenue Projection to $18.5B
Overall, total upfront spending was down 25% in April-32% for broadcast and 22% for cable-while scatter spending was down 36%-39% for broadcast and 37% for cable. SMI believes that April 2020 upfront and scatter spending could provide some insight into spending patterns over the next few months.
In terms of type of content, the loss of sports resulted in an estimated $1.1 billion shortfall in sports ads revenues across March and April. News has been performing well, however, as viewers have put more time into new consumption and companies like WarnerMedia reallocated sports dollars to news. Entertainment, meanwhile, despite increased ratings, has seen ad revenues down because of overall market decline, per SMI.
Who is advertising has also been impacted by COVID-19. Automotive, entertainment and media, restaurants, technology and travel services have all seen double digit declines. In fact, general business was the only category that saw growth in March and April.
For the full report from SMI, Media Village's website.
North America Stories
07/01/2026
NASA's Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft launches on the Artemis I flight test, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, from Launch Complex 39B at ...
07/01/2026
For the first time ever, new C' variants allow international users to interoperate with U.S. personnel via NSA-certified cryptography....
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Back to All News
The Trailer of Paparazzi King: The 5-Episode Docuseries Coming...
07/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Supports Warner Bros. Discovery Board's Commitment...
07/01/2026
Back to All News
What Next? Netflix Reveals Series, Films and Games Coming in 2026
Entertainment
07 January 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Download ...
07/01/2026
AI has transformed retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) operations, enhancin...
06/01/2026
Peacock Bringing Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos to Live Sports ContentPeacock is the first streamer to embrace Dolbys full suite of advanced picture/sound innovat...
06/01/2026
SVG Europe Audio: Listening to the sounds of powder and ice at Milano Cortina wi...
06/01/2026
Quintar Meta Spatial SDK Integration Promises Next-Level XR ExperiencesBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 - 9:41 am
Print This...
06/01/2026
Milano Cortina 2026: BBC Sport Previews Broadcast Ops, Studio Setup, Social Medi...
06/01/2026
Dolby's Jason Power on Elevating Live Sports Through Immersive Audio and HDR...
06/01/2026
DAZN's Global CRO Walker Jacobs on the Streamer's Breakout Year in the U...
06/01/2026
California Dreamin': LA28's SVP of Media Jim Bell Previews the Olympic a...
06/01/2026
One Month Out From Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony, NBC Sports in Final Prep fo...
06/01/2026
Advanced HDR by Technicolor and Zinwell Integrated onto ATSC 3.0 Conversion Boxe...
06/01/2026
Fox Sports President and COO Mark Silverman Shifts to Consulting RoleBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 - 2:37 pm
Print This S...
06/01/2026
In a live broadcast, L3Harris CFO and Missile Solutions President Ken Bedingfield joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Bedingfield discussed...
06/01/2026
First-of-its-kind SSP capability delivers program-level insight and brand suitab...
06/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
06/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
06/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
06/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
06/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
06/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
06/01/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Kicks Off Spring Center Stage Season in February Boston Conservatory at Berklee's Center Stage season continues this spring...
06/01/2026
Operative, the preferred advertising management solution provider for the world's leading media brands, today announced a new AOS Services Platform, advanci...
06/01/2026
Beam Dynamics has strengthened its leadership team with two appointments to support the company's next stage of growth. Jonathan Rollman will lead product s...
06/01/2026
MNC Software, a global leader in network management and operational support systems tailored to the broadcast and media industry, has today announced the appoin...
06/01/2026
Friend MTS, the number one anti-piracy provider and video cybersecurity partner in entertainment, media and sports, today announced a partnership with Jasmine I...
06/01/2026
Kiloview, a global leader in AV-over-IP solutions, will showcase its latest innovations at ISE 2026, highlighting the continued evolution of its complete, light...
06/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
06/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
06/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
06/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
NEW YORK-Media Village's Standard Media Index took an in-depth look at the impact COVID-19 had on the national TV advertising market in March and April of this year, which found that across all national TV the market was down $1.6 billion from the same period in 2019 and down $1.5 billion from SMI's initial March/April 2020 forecast.
